Tag: South African Reserve Bank (SARB)

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni delivered a macabre Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBSP) to Parliament on October 30. The MTBPS communicates to government and the people the economic context of the country and fiscal spending priorities over the coming three years. (It does not include detailed spending plans or tax proposals, which are left to the main budget in February.)

Many South Africans are actively looking to move funds offshore, for reasons that range from travel and investing to importing or exporting new products and launching new businesses. But without observing the correct exchange control procedures, you or your business could quickly land in hot water with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB).

The South African Reserve Bank has decided to keep interest rates unchanged. Interest rates stability coupled with a recovery in the economy during the second quarter provides consumers and SMEs a window of opportunity to review finances. More importantly, Moody’s wait-and-see approach with respect to our country’s rating is another incentive for South Africa to stimulate economic recovery.

Finance minister Tito Mboweni’s new economic strategy paper is a refreshing, much needed breath of fresh air for an economy struggling for oxygen. The paper is replete with common sense proposals all aimed at achieving the economic growth South Africa desperately needs. We have been stumbling along a low-growth path of high taxes, kilometres of red-tape, wealth redistribution, and anti-individualism for far too long. If Mboweni’s paper can be taken as a true step in a new direction, a direction of more individual freedom, South Africa will see green shoots of recovery almost immediately.

tructural reforms urgently needed as annual growth drops to 0% y-o-y. Statistics South Africa (StatsSA) reported on June 4 that the South African economy contracted by 3.2% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) during the first quarter of 2019 – the biggest decline in 10 years.

Investing offshore has nothing to do with patriotism. In the recent past, articles speaking about financial emigration and 'rushing offshore' have painted a picture of Afro-pessimists and skittish investors. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The Reserve Bank’s decision to hold rates, even with the recent instability in stock and currency markets, will help consumers to plan ahead when managing their finances.

Both the South African government and its citizens are forced to allocate more of their resources towards debt rather than to education or housing. This creates a challenge to maintain healthy finances, leading to empty pockets and frustration.

As an election year, a second State of the Nation Address (SONA) will probably be held during June 2019 wherein the newly elected government will present their programme of action for the 2020 financial year. The SONA address that was delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday 7 February 2019, accordingly reflected on the Medium Term Strategic Frameworks designed and implemented in the past five years.

With a unanimous decision, members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) voted on 17 January to keep interest rates unchanged, in line with analyst expectations. This follows an interest rate hike of 25 basis points (bps) in November 2018, which brought the repo and prime lending rates to 6.75% and 10.25%, respectively.